Barry Manilow comes out, reveals four-decade romance

Barry Manilow, right, and husband Garry Kief at a pre-Grammy event in 2016. In a 2017 People cover story, Manilow revealed that he and Kief have been a couple for nearly 40 years. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

(Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Barry Manilow has shared his love songs with the world for decades. Now, he's ready to open up about his own romance.

In a People cover story, the musician said he and manager Garry Kief have been a couple for 39 years. The two married in 2014 at their Palm Springs, California home.

"I'm so private," Manilow told People. "I have always been."

He kept his personal life secret, he said, because of his fans.

"I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay," he said. "So I never did anything. When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful -- strangers commenting, 'Great for you!' I'm just so grateful for it."

Manilow was previously married to Susan Deixler, his high school sweetheart.

"I was in love with Susan," he said, and added it wasn't his sexuality that ended their brief union. "I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats -- I was too young. I wasn't ready to settle down."

Of his husband and business partner, Manilow called him "the smartest person I've ever met in my life--and a great guy, too."

The 73-year-old singer of "Mandy," "Copacabana" and other hits, has a handful of May tour dates, though none in Portland. His latest album is "This is My Town: Songs of New York."